Tag Archives: denies

By James Macharia JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) – A presidential correspondent of South Africa’s SABC state broadcaster reported on Monday that Jacob Zuma had agreed to resign as head of state citing sources, although the embattled leader’s spokesman quickly dismissed it as “fake news”. The rand , which had gained as much as 1 percent on expectations Zuma was on his way out, surrendered some of its gains after the rebuttal from Bongani Ngqulunga, but remained 0.4 percent stronger on the day at 11.95 to the dollar. Standing outside a meeting of the top leadership of the ruling ANC, SABC correspondent Tshepo Ikaneng cited sources inside the Presidency as saying 75-year-old Zuma had agreed to stand aside after weeks of mounting pressure for him to quit.

Benjamin Wittes, editor in chief of Lawfare and friend of Rachel Brand, talks with Rachel Maddow about Donald Trump's hollowing-out of the Justice Department and what Rachel Brand has told him about her decision to resign.

By Aaron Maasho ADDIS ABABA (Reuters) – China and the African Union dismissed on Monday a report in French newspaper Le Monde that Beijing had bugged the regional bloc’s headquarters in the Ethiopian capital. An article published Friday in Le Monde, quoting anonymous AU sources, reported that data from computers in the Chinese-built building had been transferred nightly to Chinese servers for five years. After the massive hack was discovered a year ago, the building’s IT system including servers was changed, according to Le Monde.

By Ece Toksabay, Ellen Francis and Tuvan Gumrukcu ANKARA/BEIRUT (Reuters) – The U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) rejected a Turkish army statement that Islamic State was present in the Afrin region of northwestern Syria, where Ankara launched an offensive four days ago which has raised international concern. The Turkish military said late on Tuesday it had killed at least 260 Syrian Kurdish fighters and Islamic State militants in its offensive into the Kurdish-dominated Afrin region of northwest Syria.

HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — A Republican congressman from Pennsylvania who settled a former aide's sexual harassment complaint with taxpayer money said Tuesday that he developed a deep affection for her and reacted badly when she began dating another man, but never harassed her or pursued a romantic relationship.

President Donald Trump denied on Wednesday that the planned relocation of the U.S. embassy in Israel to Jerusalem would take place within a year, after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he expected the controversial move to happen by then. Reversing decades of U.S. policy, Trump in early December recognized Jerusalem as Israel’s capital and set in motion the process of moving the embassy from Tel Aviv, imperiling Middle East peace efforts and upsetting the Arab world and Western allies alike.

U.S. President Donald Trump on Sunday disputed a newspaper’s account of an interview with him last week in which he was quoted as saying he probably had a “very good relationship” with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. Accusing the Wall Street Journal of misquoting him, Trump said in tweets that he told the newspaper on Thursday that “I’d probably” have a good relationship with Kim, using a conditional tense, which he insisted was a “big difference.”The White House released a portion of the audio from the interview that it said showed Trump said “I’d.” The Wall Street Journal released its own audio that it said backed up its version of the events.

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — An exiled Qatari ruling family member once promoted by Saudi Arabia amid its ongoing dispute with Doha appeared in an online video Sunday claiming he's being held against his will in the United Arab Emirates, an allegation denied by Abu Dhabi.

Saudi construction giant Binladin Group denied Saturday any state takeover after its chairman was detained, but said some shares may have been transferred to the government. The firm, which has been forced to lay off tens of thousands of workers due to financial problems, said it remained a private shareholding company and was undergoing restructuring. International media this week reported Saudi Arabia’s government had taken over the firm after chairman Bakr bin Laden was detained.